University of Kwazulu-Natal

Misinformation On Misinformation Conceptual And Methodological

Bonisiwe Shabane
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misinformation on misinformation conceptual and methodological

Alarmist narratives about online misinformation continue to gain traction despite evidence that its prevalence and impact are overstated. Drawing on research examining the use of big data in social science and reception studies, we identify six misconceptions about misinformation and highlight the conceptual and methodological challenges they raise. The first set of misconceptions concerns the prevalence and circulation of misinformation. First, scientists focus on social media because it is methodologically convenient, but misinformation is not just a social media problem. Second, the internet is not rife with misinformation or news, but with memes and entertaining content. Third, falsehoods do not spread faster than the truth; how we define (mis)information influences our results and their practical implications.

The second set of misconceptions concerns the impact and the reception of misinformation. Fourth, people do not believe everything they see on the internet: the sheer volume of engagement should not be conflated with belief. Fifth, people are more likely to be uninformed than misinformed; surveys overestimate misperceptions and say little about the causal influence of misinformation. Sixth, the influence of misinformation on people’s behavior is overblown as misinformation often “preaches to the choir.” To appropriately understand and fight misinformation, future research needs to address these challenges. This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Corresponding Author: Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh, Email: miladahmadimarzaleh@yahoo.com

Received 2025 Mar 25; Revised 2025 May 1; Accepted 2025 May 20; Issue date 2025 Aug. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. “Misinformation” is the dissemination of false information without the intention to mislead. Those who share this false information may believe that the information is true, useful, or interesting, and have no malicious intent toward the people they share it with.1 Health “misinformation” can be divided into three different types based on its accuracy, each of which poses risks to individuals and society. The first type of misinformation involves the dissemination of completely incorrect health information that can lead to harmful health decisions.

The second type of misinformation refers to the spread of health pseudoscience, where some elements of truth are presented in a misleading way, leading to incorrect conclusions. Finally, the third type of misinformation involves conditional advice of uncertain validity that, despite good intentions, can lead to negative health outcomes if used incorrectly. All three types can significantly harm public health and create confusion in health decision-making.2 For example, skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine is prevalent in many communities, especially among groups with specific socioeconomic and racial... Given the rapid development of this vaccine, many people have become skeptical about its effectiveness and safety. Stroud’s study showed that people who are able to identify inaccurate health articles are less likely to spread misinformation, have less skepticism about vaccines, and are more likely to get vaccinated.3

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Received 2025 Mar 25; Revised 2025 May 1; Accepted 2025

Received 2025 Mar 25; Revised 2025 May 1; Accepted 2025 May 20; Issue date 2025 Aug. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. “Misinformation” is the dissemination of ...

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